The Beast and the Enchantress
by Cosmo.camellia
Summary: Two childhood friends cross paths once more and end up discovering the dark secrets of the government and about their past. AU, Rated T for mild violence, language and suggestive themes, may change to M later.
1. Phase 1

In the middle of the night a man with silver spikey hair who wore an red coat, walked through the very dark forest at the middle of the night. Only the very light rays of moon light would seep through the leaves of the tall tree to offer a little of guidance to anyone who would dare to travel at such a time. Who knew what kind of creatures learked within the shadows of this forest.

Although he didn't care. He had a goal and wasn't going to stop just because of an creepy forest that laid within his path. Once the man came to an clearing within the middle of the forest he looked up towards the dark blushish sky above with its hints of silver sparkles. _'So much for reaching Kagutsuchi before sunset... Great calculating skills, Ragna.' _He thought to himself as he flexed his shoulders a little to loosen the tension he felt in his body.

He had been travelling among the Hierarchical Cities for the past couple of months, sneaking into the NOL bases at the middle of the night and destroying their cauldrons that were kept at the bottom of each base. For all of that he was branded as a terriost and named an infamous title, 'The Grim Reaper' Or his other title, 'Ragna the Bloodedge'. He is also the man that carried the highest bounty of all criminals in the history recorded, his bounty was worth an whopping 90,000,000 Platinum dollars.

Ragna breathed in lightly as he felt the heavy air on his lungs. ''The seithr seems too thick around here." He mumbled to himself as he glanced around. Scanning his nearby surroundings before trailing their view to his right arm that began to glow an blackish-blue color as it begun to absorb the toxic mist. Since seithr when in larger quantities, would end up killing anyone who breathed to much in.

"Damn it!" Ragna growled as he clutched his right forearm, although while Ragna was too busy focusing on how he could prevent his arm from absorbing so much seithr, he failed to notice a gothic looking princess strolling towards him with her parasol up above her head.

"Good Evening, Ragna!" She spoke in a upper classed tone.

"Rabbit." He growled as he looked at the way her hair was being held up with two pony tails that were held by two large black ribbons that looked almost like rabbit ears.

"Hmph! Your being your rude self as usual, Ragna. You can't even show a little manners when it comes to a lady. No wonder you scare all the girls off." The girl name Rachel teased.

"Shut up!" Ragna groaned in annoyance. "What do you want now anyways?" He demanded an answer from her.

"Oh my... You really do lack manners, don't you?" She noted as she let out a sigh. "Oh, well... Not everyone is blessed with grace and manners." She said, causing Ragna's face to scrunch up.

"God, damn it. Why are you even here? Are you just here to annoy me with your useless bulls*** as usual?" He growled as he placed his hand onto the hilt of his sword.

Rachel then let out a sigh as she said, "Well I was planning on telling you something... 'interesting', but you don't really deserve it."

"Just tell me!" Ragna demanded in an angered tone.

Rachel smirked slightly as she said, "An old friend of yours is heading to Kagutsuchi."

"I don't have any friends!" Ragna quickly answered back as he looked down to the ground.

"Hehe, oh... not even a certain young lady whom you used to train with?"

At the mention of the girl Ragna's eyes widen in shock. It had been a rather long time since he's seen her and not to mention he didn't even get to say goodbye to her before she left. Ragna slowly turned his head towards Rachel and said, "Rachel, you better not be f***ing with me. 'Cause I swear if you are I'll-"

Although before Ragna could finish his sentence Rachel interrupted him. "Why do you honestly think that I would fib about such a thing? No matter, I'd best be off now." Rachel said as she turned away from Ragna. "Hopefully she won't distract you from your mission... at least too much." With that Rachel clicked her fingers as she disappeared leaving rose petals behind.

"Hey, WAIT!" Ragna called out but didn't receive any response. "What the hell was that about? Was the rabbit telling the truth about 'her' being here? In Kagutsuchi." He mumbled to himself as he looked up ahead, seeing the 13th Hierarchical City of Kagutsuchi in the far off distance. "I better go and find out!" Ragna said as he began to run towards the city. His gut filled with curiosity and his mind slightly clouded by the thought of seeing his only friend once more.

As he continued to run through the forest his mind slowly recalled the first time they met. Him and his friend.

_Ragna was in the darkest depths of the forest practicing using the power of the Azure for a while now and after a couple of hours of training he wiped the sweat from his forehead and decided to take a break. "Jezz, I'm parched!" Ragna puffed out before sitting down on a nearby log on the ground. He then grabbed the water bottle that was sitting near him and drank from it. _

_"I wonder when Jubei will get back?" He said to himself, only just noticing the cat far off into the distance coming towards Ragna. "Well it's about time!" He yelled out to the cat that walked on its two hind legs. Although once the cat got in a closer range of view for Ragna, he could notice that someone was walking right behind Jubei._

_Once Jubei and the other person arrived to Ragna, Jubei was the first to speak. "Well I hope yer' enjoying slacking your arse off." Jubei teased Ragan, who growled back._

_"Shut up! I only just began my break a few minutes ago. Which by the way I've been working my ass off for the past three hours!" Ragna then decided to change subject as he scratched his head. "So who's hiding behind you?"_

_A little gasp came from the person who was hiding behind Jubei. He then chuckled as he motioned for the person to come out and meet Ragna. "Hey, com'on kid. Ragna won't bite... although if he does it won't be that painful." Jubei chuckled some more as Ragna let out an annoyed sigh._

_"Ha..ha...ha, funny! You damn cat!" Ragna said with sarcasm. "Okay, but seriously are you gonna come out yourself or do I have to drag you out?" He asked just before the girl stumbled out from behind Jubei. Letting Ragna see her fully._

_She had light brown hair that was half held up in a half breaded do while the rest of her hair flowed down just passed her hips. She had a rather curvy body and blue sapphire colored eyes. She was clad in a teal colored kimono top with a pair of small black shorts she also had metal plated boots on to accompany her look._

_Ragna stared at the girl for a couple of minutes waiting for her to say something. Although all she didn't say anything, she just stood there staring silently at Ragna._

_"Com'on, why don't you tell him your name." Jubei nudged for the girl to speak to Ragna._

_The girl walked forward slight and lent down in front of him, bowing before Ragna as she said, "Hello, Ragna. My name is Catarina and I'll be training with you and Jubei for some time."_

_Ragna then snorted as he replied, "You're going to be 'training' with us? I don't think some princess will be able to handle herself out he-" But before Ragna could finish his sentence, Catarina held her blade to Ragna's neck causing him to sweat._

_"Haha, you two are sure gonna get along just fine." Jubei chuckled as the two young teenagers glared at each other._

* * *

"Hey, Catarina. Are you listening?" A male NOL solider nudged the girl next to him that was staring off into space.

She looked a little startled as she looked at the solider she was sitting next to. "Oh, y-yes I am." She replied in a rather unsure tone.

"You'd better be!" He replied in a slightly teasing tone as he gave the young woman a creepy smile, which she returned with a nervous giggle.

Catarina was currently inside an air ship about a thousand feet above, she was sitting in one of the airships cabins getting a debriefing from her boss about her and her team mates mission.

"Okay, so Warrant Officer Nelson. You'll be staying behind on the air ship looking after any of our injured soldier's." The Field Officer told the only other female solider in this team.

"Yes sir!" She replied.

"Alright then, does everyone remember what your missions are?" The field officer asked everyone, who responded with a simple nod.

Although Catarina quietly raised her hand into the air, "Umm, excuse me sir!"

"Yes, First Lieutenant?" He replied.

"Umm, you never mentioned what my mission was." She spoke in a nervous tone.

The field officer then walked up and gave Catarina a scroll and then explained. "To be honest, you're not needed for this mission. Although you have been requested from the intelligence department."

"The intelligence department?"

"Yeah... apparently one of their guys requested you personally to assist them in their mission." The field officer explained as he scratched at his grey mustache.

Catarina frowned for a moment while she thought to herself. "I don't know anyone from the intelligence department besides Makoto. Who could've asked for me personally?"

"First Lieutenant?" The Filed officer spoke in a loud tone, regaining Catarina's attention.

"O-Oh, yes!?"

"Don't let us down!" He said giving the young officer a smile and a wink, which she returned with a smile and a nod. "Alright, I'll meet up with the rest of you guys tomorrow at 1400 hours. Make sure to get some rest and wake up at 6AM!" He said to the rest of the crew before dismissing all of them.

Catarina stood up from where she sat and exited the room. She then turned to her left and begun walking down the long hallway towards her cabin. Until one of her crew mates ran up to her. "Hey, Catarina wait up!" She turned around to see Gary running up to her. The two usually worked together during their missions except this one task.

"Hey, Gary." She greeted him.

"Looking forward to your task?" He asked as he looked at the scroll in her hand.

"Well I haven't read what I'm doing yet. I was gonna go back to my cabin and read over my mission log." She claimed as she glanced at her scroll. For some reason each time she would glance at it she felt an nerve wracking aura come from it. Almost as if the mission she'll be going on will end badly for her and the others.

"Catarinaaa! You're spacing out again!" Gary said as he waved his hand in front of her face, snapping her out of her deep thoughts.

"Oppise, sorry!" She apologized while rubbing her right arm in a little embarrassment.

"Man, you've been zoning out so much lately... You're not sick, are you?" Gary asked as he leaned forward, pressing his cold hand against Catarina's head. Before she grabbed his hand, pushing it away from her as she chuckled.

"No, I'm fine. I've just been thinking.. a lot." She replied in a uncertain tone. She then gave him a smile to reassure him that she was fine.

He then scratched the back of his head as he replied. "Well, okay then..." He then turned away from her and said while stretching his body. "Well, I'm going to bed. I'll see you in the morning for breakfast?" He then turned his head to her and smiled. "Hey, if you need anything you can always count on me."

Catarina then smiled and nodded, "Sure! Thanks Gary." She replied to him before he took his leave. Once she saw Gary leave she too went back to her room. As soon as she was inside of her room she locked the door and let out a deep sigh as she lent against it's wooden frame, sliding down it as she sat on the floor.

_'I've seriously gotta stop blanking out like that. If I act too suspicious people will end up finding out the truth.' _She thought to herself as she buried her head into her knees. That was before she was startled by her familiar.

"Gezz, Catarina. Your always spacing out nower days. Learn to control it or they'll get you." A little brown tabby cat warned her as it walked through the closed door, startling Catarina.

"AH! S-Sandy? Don't startled me like that!" She scowled at the adorable short haired cat.

"I'm sorry..." Sandy said before changing the subject. "So... is those powers of yours at bay?" She asked with a dead serious tone as she stared at the young lady on the floor with her emerald glowing eyes.

"Yes, geez. I'm not a child anymore. I know how to conceal my own powers." Catarina growled back.

Sandy then smirked as she replied, "Just checking!" She then jumped onto the window's ledge and turned to look at Catarina. "Well, I need to go do some business. I'll check back with you later!" The cat told her before it turned invisible and walked through the window, leaving the young solider behind.

Catarina slowly got up from where she sat and sighed heavily. "Damn it, as my familiar she could at least be a little bit politer." She then walked over to her bed and sat on it as she lent down to grab her bag. Opening it she pulled out a photo of her when she was younger.

In the photo she stood with a middle aged woman with dark chocolate brown hair accompanied by a teenaged boy with auburn hair and green emerald eyes. "Mother..." She softly whispered as she touched the photo with two of her fingertips. Her fingers glow a light blue and a shimmer of blue sparkles surrounded the photo. As this happened Catarina's eyes began to glow neon blue and at that moment her surroundings changed as her body became transparent.

She looked around to see the lush green grass and a small cottage that was covered in ivory vines sit at the top of an hill, it also had a single tree that stood tall nearby the house and it held a little sing that was tied to it by some rope.

Catarina let out a sigh of bliss as she looked at her old home. She then saw herself as a child running up to her now deceased mother, giving her mum a warm cuddle. It was honestly something she was very thankful for, seeing the happy memories she had as a child in person.

But with an swish of her hand and she returned back to reality. Sitting once more on the bed in her cabin on the NOL air ship.

"I've got to stop playing around with my powers like that. Otherwise I'm just going to drain myself of energy... Speaking on energy." She then turned her head to her pillow as she mumbled. "I should get some shut eye." She said as clicked her fingers, no longer wearing her NOL uniform but instead a pair of sky blue silkily shorts with a matching silkily tank top. She then pulled up the covers and hoped into bed, pulling the covers up to her chin as she snuggled into a ball as she fell asleep.

* * *

A/N: Okay, I'm back sooner than I thought. First of all, sorry if I'm rusty on this, I usually am when it comes to the beginning of a new story. Which by the way, this should have been up three years ago, but I was really picky on how to begin this and I wasn't sure if it was even good enough to post up with the past... drafts of this. Even though it may still suck. Anyways, enough about my crap. Hope you all enjoyed, please feel free to leave a review or not and I may see you guys some time again this month, depending on how fast my mind and fingers are working with my stories. And the mean comments I might get….


	2. Phase 2

It was twenty minutes before the sixth hour would hit. Catrina had just woken up, and keeping her objective in mind, she put on her sleeveless cream coloured shirt on with a pair of black tights. She also placed two silver rings into the front part of her on each side of her face. A quick look in the mirror at herself made her let out a sigh. She generally didn't like looking at herself in them mirror because she didn't think of herself as pretty or beautiful. Not wanting to look at herself anymore, Catarina left her room and slowly strolled down the hallway.

Catarina occasionally looked down beside her to see that the cat named Sandy was currently following her around. She tried to ignore her presence, but the feline is quite frankly, too much to just ignore, "Hello there, Sandy," Catarina greeted in a rather semi-passive aggressive tone, getting annoyed with Sandy practically stalking her.

"What's with the anger? You still mad at me?" Sandy questioned as she walked around the corner alongside Catarina.

"For scaring me last night? No, I'm not mad, but I am worried about people seeing you," She replied in a lot more of a concern tone. Feeling a sense of urgency to not be late, she slightly sped up her walking pace.

"The only reason as to why I'm here is to observe you," The cat responded in emotionless tone as she scampered.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but can't you do that from afar?" She asked as she walked up to the door about to knock on Gary's door.

"Fine! Then I'll leave," The cat grumbled as it began to sprinted off down the hallway, while its body began to turn transparent.

Catarina then let out a sigh of defeat as she felt guilt crawl into her gut, but she did have a point to say that to Sandy. Any NOL guard would get suspicious if they saw a cat hang around Catarina 24/7, meowing away to her.

Gently, Catarina knocked on the door as she called Gary's name quietly. "Hey, you asked me to wake you up!" She called through the thick door, although she figured he couldn't hear her since he didn't respond. After waiting a few minutes, she decided to enter his room. She then placed her hand onto the door handle and swung it open before walking in.

"Gary, it's time to-" Catarina stopped in mid-sentence as she stared at Gary in horror. He was still sleeping, but he was wearing no clothes. She could tell since she saw his bare buttocks facing towards the sky. Catarina covered her mouth as she screamed, whilst turning her head away from Gary. In a fright, she summoned a lightning bolt which she zapped him right on the behind, waking him up almost immediately.

"GAAAAH! What the-!?" Gary yelped while he covered himself as he glanced around, spotting Catarina at the entrance of his room, looking away from him as she shivered at his nudity, "Ohh... SORRY CATARINA!" He yelled.

Although she didn't respond, she then turned towards the exit as she walked out silently, pretending that incident had never occurred.

* * *

An hour later, Catarina and her team were sitting in the same cabin once more, waiting for the Ars Magus vessel to dock at Kagutsuchi so that they could go off and complete their mission, and start her mission for Catarina.

While the crew waited, Gary was bowing down before Catarina, begging for her forgiveness. "I'm so sorry, Catarina!" Gray yelled out as he lent forward to cling onto Catarina's ankle, refusing to let go of her.

"Gary, can you please let me go?" Catarina asked politely as she tried to finish reading her mission log. She wasn't even bothering to look at the begging Gary that was practically dragging himself on her ankles.

"I didn't mean to scare you!" Gary cried out completely ignoring Catarina as he made a bigger deal out of what happened. That end up greatly annoying the other team members near the two.

"Hey, Cat. Do you want me to get him off of you?" A man who had short aqua-blue eyes with black spiky hair, and stubble to match his punk style asked her before grabbing Gary by the collar of his shirt, forcefully pulling Gray up into the air.

"Ow ow ow!" Gary whined as he felt a tough tug against his neck. "GAH! You're... choking me!" He gaged out as he struggled to get out of Takuma's grip.

"Hey, he's going to choke. Put him down, Takuma!" Catarina growled at the brute of her team.

"Hmph! You're a killjoy, Catarina," He whined as he placed Gary back down on the sit between him and Catarina. He then sat back down and continued to grumble to himself.

"Phew, thanks, Cat." Gary said as he rubbed his red sore neck. He turned toward Takuma and mentioned, "Man, you have a tight grip."

"That's because I know how to 'work it'! Hahahaha!" He laughed at his own joke while everyone just turned their heads and gave him an ice-cold glare.

"Err... So... what is your mission about, Catarina?" Gary asked her as he lend over to catch a glimpse at her mission log.

"All it really says is that I've been summoned by Captain Hazama of the Intelligence Department..." Catarina explained while glaring at the name Hazama, "You'd think, them being the Intelligence Department, they would be more informative, especially if this concerns official business for the Imperator."

"For the Imperator?!" Gary spoke with amazement in his voice.

Overhearing Catarina and Gary's conversation Manabu added in, "Wow! You've gotten pretty famous, haven't ya?" He teased as he watched Catarina's cheeks tint pink.

"I-I am not-!" Catarina went to reply but only for Siegfried to interrupt her.

"Awwww, is that why you're leaving us? Too upper-classed for the Punition Squad," He teased her some more as he lent forward and prodded her in the arm playfully.

"W-wha?! N-no I-" Before Catarina could finish her sentence Gary got up and cheered out.

"We should go to the bar for once last drink with Catarina before she leaves us!"

The moment Gary suggested that, all the men cheered in agreement. They then forcefully grabbed Catarina and dragged her down the hallway towards the elevator. Once inside, they only had to listen to mundane elevator music for a minute or two until they came to their stop on the basement's first floor of the Ars vessel. They stepped out into the bar and as soon as they did they got a strong smell of alcohol.

"Mmmm... the sweet smell of alcohol~" Taumka happily cried out as he walked closer to the bar.

"It is a rather refreshing smell," The man with the black combed back hair with a pair of simplistic glasses, mentioned as he followed behind Takuma.

Catarina rubbed her nose and mumbled to herself, "I honestly can't stand the smell of death and idiocy." She then let out a sigh as she hoped onto a bar stood, praying that the smell of sanitised benchtops would make her feel less nauseous.

"Come Cat. Why don't you have a beer with the rest of us?" Dai asked as he sat upon a bar stool beside her.

Catarina looked down and shook her head, "No, thank you. If I drink that stuff I don't know what could happen."

"What do you mean by that?" Gary asked her, showing an obvious worried look.

"Nothing will happen... besides we'll keep an eye on you, won't we?" Takuma said as he gave a playful nudge to Gary.

"No... you'll just take advantage of her, Takuma." Siegfried chuckled before getting grabbed around the collar of his shirt as Takuma held his clenched fist in front of Siegfried's face.

"You wanna die, punk?!" He growled ready to throw his fist into Siegfried's face.

"You can't hit for shit!" Siegfried taunted.

While the group of men continued to mess around, Catarina sat quietly as she stared at the clear and clean benchtop, staring at her faint reflection as she thought to herself, "I have no idea what will happen if I got drunk. I don't even fully understand these powers or why I've even got them."

Noticing Catarina's look of doubt, Gary lent over to see if she was alright. "Hey, you okay? Look don't let them pressure you into drinking if you really don't want to." Gary then went to wrap an arm around her shoulders only for Catarina to shift out of the way as she turned towards him.

"Thanks Gary, I can always count on you." She then gave him a sweet smile, which caused his cheeks to blush a crimson red.

He chuckled nervously in response, "Y-You're welcome." He then thought to himself, 'That smile is so cute…'

Catarina couldn't help but to let out a giggle as she glanced at Gary's dazed face.

"Careful now, Gary. If you stare into the eyes of a temptress like Catarina, you might end up falling in love with her." Wilfred teased as he pushed his glasses up, before looking at Gary's tomato red face.

"W-W-W-WHAT?!" He spluttered in response.

Catarina giggled quietly before defending Gary, "Oh, come on you guys. Cut Gary some slack... After all, who would be foolish enough to fall in love with me?" She chuckled as she completely ignored the stunned look on all of the men's faces.

Unfortunately for them before they could reply to Catarina's depressing comment on herself image, the bar tender walked over to the group to greet them.

"Hey there guys, Miss Catarina." He spoke happily as he picked up an empty glass and began to rub it clean with his rag. "So I heard you were leaving us, is that true Miss Cat?"

"W-Wait... how did you-"

"I'm the eyes and the ears of this bar, sweetheart. I know everything about anyone on this Ars Vessel." Chishou replied as he gave out a devilish grin. "Although the bar isn't going to be as popular as it was when you performed here," He mentioned as he gave her group a wink.

"Hey, Cat. Why don't you sing for us one last time?" Gary suggested.

"Yeah, com'on! Sing! Sing! Sing! Sing!" Dai chimed in.

Catarina let out a smirk as she reached over the bench top and grabbed a guitar out from behind it. She then began to play it as she began to sing, "The day, the day... the dragon-born comes!"

"Heeeey! Stop fooling around, can't you sing a actual song?" Takuma groaned.

"Yeah, stop bringing us these damn game references!" Dai moaned in disapproval.

Catarina then inhaled as she closed her eyes, claiming her nerves before singing, "I was never right, for the hero type of role... I admit iiiiiiiiiiiiiit~" She began to sing in grace as the boys all began to cheer upon listening to her sing. It was honestly the one true time when they could forget all the pressures of being in the NOL as soldiers of the Imperator. But every moment of happiness would always be short-lived.

After finishing her song Catarina thanked everyone for listening to her perform, which made the crowd that formed during the song cheer in response to her.

"Cat, that was awesome!" Takuma called out to her as he helped her off the bench top.

"Yeah, it was amazing as always~" Gary mentioned whilst blushing slightly red.

"T-Thank you so much." She replied. Embarrassment was clearly written all over her face.

"Wow, you should join in the musical career. You shouldn't waste such talents on the battlefield." Dai said to her who just giggled in response.

"Yeah, but then I wouldn't have time to see you guys because I would be too busy with all my fans," She teased watching their faces become that of jealously.

"F*** that!" Dai growled.

"No way! That's it. You're not allowed to ever join the music business, okay, Cat?" Takuma ordered Catarina as he gave her a determined look.

"Yeah, sure." She succinctly replied without feeling before hearing the Vessel's announcer.

"The Ars Vessel is now reaching the dock of Ōkoto's NOL base. If this is your stop, then please head towards your nearest passenger exit." The female announcer's voice echoed throughout the ship.

Catarina then spoke in a slightly sadden tone, "Well... this is my stop."

"Awwwww!" All the men whined in response.

"Great, now we're a guy-only group," Takuma groaned in annoyance.

"Cat..." Gary mumbled.

"I-I'm not good with goodbyes but... I pray I'll see you boys again." With that being said, she turned away and ran off to the elevator, entering and then pressing the button for level one on the Ars Vessel. Once the doors of the elevator shut the boys sighed deeply.

"Well, there goes our only entertainment," Dai whined.

"And Gary's waifu~" Chishou teased the young boy as his cheeks went bright red.

"SHUT UP!" Gary spluttered.

As the boys messed about, Catarina entered the NOL building's entrance and walked over to the receptionist. "Excuse me, by any chance, which floor can I find Captain Hazama on?" She asked politely.

"He's on level 23, room 3 at the end of the hallway," She replied before returning to typing on the computer in front of her.

"Thank you," She replied before walking off.

Catarina slowly strolled down the hallway towards the elevator. Once she walked into it, she looked for the button that would take her to level 23. After pressing it, she waited patiently as the elevator slowly rode up, playing its tunes that Catrina always hated. While Catarina continued waiting, her mind slowly drifted back to the past, replaying some warm memories.

* * *

_It has been at least four days since Catarina had started her training under Jubei's wing. She had gotten along quite well with her new master, although for Ragna, he continued to distant himself from the girl. Even so, that didn't stop her for trying to befriend him._

_Catarina stood there, observing Ragna from a distance as he continued to train alone. Eventually, he stopped to take a break, he sat down on a nearby log and grabbed out his canister of water. He drank the cool water from its container._

_Slowly, Catarina crept up to him, and once she was about a meter in front of where Ragna sat, she then spoke to him in a nervous tone, "Umm hello!"_

_Ragna looked up to the girl in front of him with a blank expression on his face as he replied, "Oh, it's you. What do you want now?" He asked in a tone that showed he wasn't really interested in small-talk._

_"Well I-" She stopped herself midsentence, trying to figure out what's a good response to his question, "Well, I was wondering if all that training had made you hungry? Because if you were, I could always make you something," She offered._

_"Sorry, but I rather eat something I've cooked then your grub." He smirked upon seeing Catarina's shocked expression._

_She received a rather rude response, she thought, "Excuse me!?" She growled, "Oh, what? Do you really think that your cooking could out do my cuisine?"_

_Ragna chuckled as he slowly rose to his feet, "That almost sounds like a challenge."_

_"Maybe it is!" Catarina snarled back at him._

_"Alright, you're on!" Ragna announced, "How about we cook two meals, dinner and desert? Whoever's two meals taste the best, wins!"_

_"And Jubei will be our personal judge!" Catarina replied in a determined tone, she felt confident in her abilities that she wouldn't lose to him!_

* * *

"You have arrived to level 23"

Catarina heard those words ring into her head as it pulled her out of her warm recall. Once the elevator had opened its doors, Catarina stepped out and walked down the hallway before her as she thought to herself, "Okay, room 3 at the end of the..." She looked straight down the hallway to see a dark and large bulky door with an eerie vibe coming from behind it, "I really hope the man on the other side of that door is a lot friendlier then this strange feeling it's giving me."

She walked forward to the door, taking a deep breath as she reached it. Once her nerves calmed slightly she knocked on the door, she waited for a response. After a minute or two of silence, she then heard a slightly deep voice call out, "Enter!" She then obliged and entered, although the eerie vibe only got worse once she had entered the room.

Inside, she walked forward and stopped a two meters from the front of the desk where there was a man facing away from her. He was clad in a black suit and also had emerald coloured hair. Without looking her way, still facing the window he greeted, "Thank you for coming all this way, First Lieutenant, I hope I haven't trouble you."

"Not at all, sir," Catarina replied politely.

"Anyways, I am Captain Hazama from the Intelligence Department," He introduced himself still not facing her, although the next thing he said to her completely creeped her out. "My, you are rather beautiful aren't you?" He mentioned as he continued looking out the window, "It is rare to find a beautiful female officer nowadays."

Catarina blushed slightly, feeling rather uncomfortable with the man in front of her. "Umm, excuse me, sir-"

"Call me Hazama, babe," He purred.

"Mr. Hazama then, please do not say such things. It makes me feel uncomfortable." She looked down at the ground, feeling nervous about spending time with her new boss.

"Oh, why can't you lighten up a bit," He scowled, "Anyways, the reason why I summoned you all the way here is because the Imperator has instructed me to investigate the disappearance of Major Jin Kisaragi, since we've been informed that he has likely gone off to pursue Ragna the Bloodedge who is currently in Kagutsuchi." He explained.

"Jin's run off after Ragna? Tsubaki's probably going to freak out upon hearing this." Catarina thought to herself quickly before returning her full attention to her boss.

"You see, if the information we've been given is true, then it could be a dangerous situation ahead of us. That is why I summoned you personally." He said as he slowly turned around he then lent over his desk slightly, opening one of his closed eyes to reveal the golden snake eye he has. "I'm counting on you to protect me, so please do not fail me, sweetheart." He gave her a creepy grin as he slid his tongue around his lips.

Catarina stood there, visibly shaken. She thought that this was by far, the scariest person she had ever met. "Y-Yes s-s-sir!" She struggled to say through her stutters.

"Good, now you're free to go. I'll meet you on the Ars Vessel at 1400 sharp so that we can depart to Kagutsuchi," He chuckled as he watched Catarina almost run out of his office. Once she had left the man mumbled to himself, "My... you've grown to be a very beautiful young woman. But... that power of yours... yes. I can feel it coursing through my veins. You've certainly grown. Now, all that there is left to do is to help guide you on how to use it, since after all, you have to work to be powerful." He chuckled insidiously to himself as he picked up the phone on his desk and dialed a number as he held it to his ear.

"This is Captain Hazama of the Intelligence Department. Please put me onto Colonel Relius of the Engineering department." He asked the operator as his call went through to the man he was ringing. Once hearing the man greet Hazama on the other end of the line, Hazama began, "Relius, we've finally got the mage! Now all we have to do is break this god forsaken time loop and then we'll go get a god slayer. Then the plan is in emotion." He announced as he stared at a photo on his desk that contained an image of Jin Kisaragi, Tsubaki Yayoi, Noel Vermillion and couple of other friends on it along with Catarina.

* * *

Meanwhile on the other side of the room Catarina was standing in front of the elevator, waiting for it to reach her level. She stood there panting and sweating, "God, that man is so creepy. He seems familiar though, almost like out of a nightmare I once had." She then let out a deep sigh, "Well at least I have a couple of hours to myself."

As soon as the evaluator arrived, she entered it and pressed the button for floor one. Although just as the doors were about to close, Hazama managed to catch up to it and entered as well. "Well it looks like we'll be going down together, Miss Catarina," He spoke in a fake charming voice.

'OH FFFFFUUUUUUCCCC-' Catarina forced a fake smile out and nodded to the man, feeling tight in her gut as the elevator door closed. The two of them alone together in a small space almost made it feel like it was collapsing on Catarina as the elevator pulled them down.

* * *

A/N: So I wrote this a week after the first chapter but my editor Kimmo was busy so, sorry for the delay, but he's really helping me out with his. Thanks for reading, I have dedicated this chapter to Rogue The Black Knight. Thank you for not giving up on me Rogue. I'm just sorry for everything I've done to you... and all my friends... even Demi.. *sniff* So anyways, hope you all enjoyed and I'll see you later... maybe... if you guys even want this story to be updated.


	3. Phase 3

_**Enchantress and the Beast Phase 3**_

* * *

Once the elevator doors opened Catarina walked out as fast as she could, however before she could run off Hazama grabbed her by the hand as she let out a gasp.

"Don't forget to meet up at the NOL base in 1400 hours, alright... doll face?" He spoke in a creepy tone as he let go of her. "Also, don't tarnish that beautiful skin~" He quietly mumbled so that she was unable to hear it.

"Y-Yes s-sir!" She replied nervously as she began to run off from her superior, leaving him behind alone with not a single care.

Hazama smirked to himself as he sniffed the air. "Ah, the beautiful fragrance her body admits... it's so alluring~" He growled to himself as he fixed up his tie and fedora.

After a couple of minutes of running Catarina stopped to catch her breath in a alleyway a couple of blocks down from the NOL base. Catarina lent against the hard wall as she panted, trying to catch her breath.

"That man is rather... creepy, isn't he?" Sandy mentioned as she jumped on top of a nearby garbage can.

Catarina then added in her opinions on her boss, "Not to mention rude, cruel, arrogant and-"

"Sexy?" Sandy teased as Catarina turned her head towards her with a look of disgust written all over her face.

"Eeew!" Catarina objected in a disturbed tone, "He's not attractive in any sort of way!"

"Oh, really?" Sandy let out a sly smirk. "But he's got a well-toned body, a cute face and he wears a snazzy suit." She replied with a little twinkle in her emerald eyes.

"Why don't you ask him out then?" Catarina growled in annoyed tone.

"Are you kidding me? I'm a cat... you know? Meow! Looks a bit weird for a cat and a human to get together." She replied before realizing, "Oh, wait... Nine and Jubei." Sandy then face palmed herself with her soft little paw.

"Well, our discussion on Hazama ends there!" Catarina replied as she stood up straight before looking around. "Anyways, how do you want to kill time with me?" She asked.

"Go to an local tavern? You know, the generic location for any sort of hero to roam around in to waste time." Sandy replied as she jumped off of the garbage can as she scampered around the corner.

"Well, why not?" Catarina mumbled as she followed her fluffy familiar down the street and towards the tavern.

* * *

Along the way to the tavern Catarina came across a man with dark skin and pure silver hair looking around asking a hand full of people about something or more like someone. "Excuse me! I could use some assistance." The tired man bellowed out as people continued to walk past him, not giving him a second of their time as they kept on walking down the streets.

Gradually Catarina crept up to the man and asked in a cautious tone, "Pardon me, but do you need any sort of help-" Catarina's soft voice trailed off as the man turned towards her. She immediately recognized his face, he was Julian Gensoki, a commander within the NOL intelligence department... As of late though, he had earned himself a five million platinum dollar bounty. However, it was not in her interest at this current moment.

"Commander."

"First Lieutenant Catarina." He mumbled lowly.

The two stayed silent as their gaze held.

"..."

"..."

Catarina then let out a slight smile as she murmured, "Long time no see, Julian."

"What brings you to such a place like this, Miss Catarina?" Julian asked in a lot more friendly tone.

Julian sat with Catarina in a tavern nearby where they met up. She had explained to him about her current mission of escorting and protecting one of the intelligence operatives.

"I see." Julian mumbled before he drank some of his water. "So, who's he guy that your 'protecting' anyways?"

"About that... You're a member of the intelligence division, right? So, I was wondering if you know anything about the man named... 'Hazama'? He's the captain that I've been ordered to protect."

The moment Catarina said that man's name, Julian turned to her with a serious look on his face. "You mean... Captain Hazama of the intelligence?!" Julian questioned be giving her a warning. "Stay away from him. That man can't be trusted!"

"Why is that?"

"I don't have solid proof yet. But when I sorting through some files I noticed that everything we had on Hazama was gone. No records, no history. Nothing! I know it's a slim chance but.. I believe that man is up to no good at all." Julian claimed before drinking some more water.

"I see... that is rather suspicious." Catarina muttered as she cupped her cheek before thinking out loud, "So, basically the man named 'Hazama' doesn't exist?"

That statement had certainly caught the interest of Julian, "Doesn't exist? So... who could this man really be?" He then gave Catarina a dead serious gaze before begging her, "Catarina, I know protecting that man is your mission and by all means continue to do so. But whatever you do, don't trust that man at all and don't let your guard down. We have no idea what that man is capable of yet."

"I shall do that. Although I'm curious. What are you going to do about this situation?" She asked him as he stood up from his seat.

"For now, there's not much that I can do. But, at least I can dig around for more information about this 'Hazama'." He then handed Catarina a small little chip like device. "Here! This is basically a radio communication device. I'll keep in contact with you this way and give you any sort of updates or if I find anything."

Catarina took the little chip and replied, "Thanks and Julian... stay safe."

"I will... as long as you make sure to kick Hazama's butt if he tries anything." And with that, Julian turned his back towards her as began to make his way towards the exit.

Once Julian had left Sandy jumped up onto the table where he was sitting at before. "So, that was a lame catch up." She comment rudely as she licked her paw.

"Hey!"

"Seriously, all you two ever talk about is work and suspicious figures. I'm just saying that... maybe you two could... I dunno... relax, maybe?!"

"Sandy. Julian does make a good point. Someone working within the NOL without any sort of ID or records is rather suspicious!" Catarina argued back.

"Well, speaking of the handsome man in the suit... Aren't you supposed to meet up with him in five minutes?" She asked as she looked up at the clock on the wall that read, five minutes until two.

"Damn time skips! This isn't an entertaining feature to put into a fanfic, you know?!" Catarina growled as she got up and picked up Sandy before running out of the tavern and towards the rendezvous point.

"Who the hell is she talking to?" Sandy asked as she stared blankly up at** you**.

* * *

After a couple of minutes of running nonstop Catarina had managed to make it in time to meet up with Hazama so that they could catch their flight.

Why hello, Miss Catarina." Hazama greeted as he took off his hat and bowed to her.

"S-sir." Catarina quickly bowed back before walking up alongside him as they entered the Ars Magus Vessel.

Once the two sat down in one of the passenger cabins. Hazama who was sitting across from Catarina, decided to ask her, "So, are you single?" He grinned as he sent shivers down her spine.

_'Oh my GOD! Please do a time skip! DO THE TIME SKIP! I'll never discourage how you write your fanfics ever again. I SWEAR, PLEASE!' _Catarina's mind continued to cry out for some mercy and luckily for her... Her wish of a time skip came true...

* * *

Catarina and Hazama had arrived at Kagutsuchi and had gotten off the Ars Vessle. _'Thank you!' _Catarina thought as she walked off the ship feeling a sign of relief.

"Now, Catarina. Remember you have to protect me since your my body guard. You can't just go running off now, you know?"

"Son of a-" Catarina held her tongue as she refrained herself from using such foul language. "Alright then... Where shall we start?" She asked her superior.

"Let's start with the NOL Kagutsuchi branch. Surely the Major could have possibly gone there." Hazama suggested as he lead the way.

It only took a couple of minutes to reach the local Kagutsuchi branch, however when the two arrived Catarina was shocked to see no signs of anyone around. "What the- What is going on?" She wondered out loudly to herself.

"Hmmm, maybe all personal were ordered to evacuate from the premises?" Hazama replied as he glanced around the empty corridors. He seem to not care about the current situation though as he continued to look around.

"We should investigate further, sir!" Catarina said as she placed a pure white mask onto her face.

"Don't tell me how to do my own job!" Hazama snarled, however Catarina ignored the glare he was giving her as she continued forth deeper into the NOL base's levels. As soon as the two made it down at least one level within the base, they noticed someone lurking within the shadows.

"Who's there?" Catarina called out as she pointed her knife at the person who was hiding.

Out of the shadow's a man with silver spiky hair who wore a red coat revealed himself to the two of them. Upon seeing his familiar face Catarina gasped. _'Ragna?!' _She then lowered her weapon as she stared at him.

The Grim Reaper then pointed his sword towards them, causing Hazama to cower away. "Well fighting isn't exactly my forte so... I'll be taking my leave." Hazama then darted away from the two as he sprinted up the stairs he and Catarina came from.

Once Hazama had left the two alone, Catarina went to greet Ragna in a friendly manner. "It's been a long time Rag-" She stopped midsentence as leapt out of the way of Ragna charging her with his sword.

"Damn NOL b*****!" Ragna roared as he went to swing his sword towards her, only for her to drop to the ground as she tripped him down. However, he managed to grab her knife that she dropped as he then proceeded to jump on top of her as he attempted a swing with it. Only for the blade to slice her mask in half as she knocked his arm. He then raised the hand held blade over her as he went to stab her through the chest.

Although, as he went to plunge it into her heart, he stopped as half her mask fell off her face. Revealing her neo blue right eye to him. He almost incidentally realized who he was attacking. "C-Cat?" He mumbled before the second half of the mask fell off her face, revealing her beautiful features to him.

She let out a sweet smile as her eyes gave him a loving gaze. She then softly whispered, "Hello Ragna~"

* * *

A/N: I'm sorry if that chapter seemed to rushed. But a few people didn't like how slow this fanfic was going and neither did I to be honest. Anyways, I want to thank everyone who has given me support and reviews through the whole thing thus far and I hope this chapter lived up to your expectations. However, I hope you guys enjoy and I'll see you all next chapter!~ 3

(Chapter updated 12/8/15) (If you guys are wondering why I'm writing the date of when I completed the chapter it's just my record keeping for the **'Cosmic Bang week'** which I explained in chapter 8 of Kagura's fanfic "Love Journey".)


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